Church of Scotland: tithing
Some preliminary thoughts on the teaching
of tithing.
www.churchofscotland.org.uk/councils/stewardship/downloads/sfga04report
Note: The bibliography includes the book, Should the Church Teach Tithing and the conclusions agree with non-tithing. The underlined portions are identical
with my conclusions. Russell Earl Kelly, PHD
Appendix 1
CHRISTIAN GIVING
Assembly Remit
The General Assembly of 2003 passed the following deliverance in relation to the Board of Stewardship
and Finance:
“The General Assembly instructs the Board to examine the scriptural
principle of tithing with a view to this being presented as a specific part of their teaching and report to the General Assembly
of 2004.”
Previous Assembly Reports
The General Assembly received Reports on tithing from the Committee on Stewardship
and Budget in 1979 and from the Board of Stewardship and Finance in 1993.
The 1979 Report contained this section,
entitled The Views of the Committee
“The question which the Committee had to answer in the light
of this evidence was whether it should declare that tithing is “the Biblical standard of giving” and should
therefore urge members to adopt this standard. The Committee decided against doing so for the following reasons:-
(i) The Committee does not find the evidence
on tithing in the Bible and the history of the Church so clear or consistent as to oblige the Church, in faithfulness to the
Scriptures, to teach that tithing is ‘the Biblical standard of giving’ which members ought to adopt.
(ii) Emphasis on tithing, instead of settling
the question ‘How much should I give?’ tends to raise further questions. For example: ‘Should the
tithe be a tithe of gross income or net income?’ ‘If it is net or disposable income, how should this be
calculated?’ ‘Should the tithe cover giving to other causes besides the work of the Church?’ There
is a danger of legalism in all this and the Committee would not wish to become involved in attempting to answer such questions.
(iii) The Committee
agrees with advocates of tithing that members should give thankfully and generously to God and for His cause, that congregations
should provide more adequately for their worship and witness, and that the Church of Scotland should be able to maintain and
develop its ministry, mission and service in Scotland and the world. But the question is – how is
this to be achieved? There is certainly a place for obligation in Christian life
and giving. It is sometimes necessary to remind members of the promises they
have made; and it is right to lay before them the needs of the work of the Church. There
are, however, limits to what can be achieved by emphasising obligations and needs, or by telling members what to do and how
much
to give. Christian giving is not just a matter of giving money or meeting obligations. It is a spiritual
matter, for our giving expresses our faith in God, our loyalty to Christ, and our concern for others. These are the motives of Christian giving. Christians should want to give rather than have
to give.”
The 1993 Report contained these conclusions:
“The Board did not, however, feel able to recommend the tithe
as the standard of Christian giving … However, one of the criticisms of the 1979 Report was its unwillingness
to give direct and specific guidance on what would constitute a worthy level of Christian giving. It is clear from both
the Old Testament and the New Testament that Christians ought to give proportionately to God. There is a clear New Testament
emphasis on generous and sacrificial giving in grateful response to what God has given to us and done for us in Jesus Christ
… No doubt there are members of the Church who give generously and even sacrificially but the evidence suggests
that many Church members do
ot even give proportionately.”
……………………………………………
2003-2004 comments
……………………………………………
The Biblical Teaching on Tithing
Most of the biblical references to tithing are in the Old Testament. Only four are to be found
in the New Testament – Matthew 23: 23-24; Luke 11: 42; 18: 9-14; and Hebrews 7: 1-10.
When the biblical references to tithing are considered
by various writers on this subject, it is evident that there is considerable disagreement about this subject. R T Kendall
begins the first chapter of The Gift of Giving with these words:
“There is ultimately only one reason why every Christian should
be a tither: because it is Biblical. All other reasons, whatever their advantages may be, would not have any weight
behind them at all if what we are talking about was not utterly Biblical.”
However, Stuart Murray in Beyond Tithing makes almost the opposite comment:
“My firm conviction is that tithing has been a pernicious
and unjust system through many centuries; that it is based on a deeply flawed interpretation of biblical teaching;
that it hinders thoughtful engagement with the much broader scope of biblical teaching on the issue of handling resources …
Texts about tithing comprise a very small proportion of what biblical authors have to say about financial issues. On
what basis are they given paradigmatic significance? What other biblical principles or practices do we fail to grapple
with when we prioritise the tithing texts in this way?”
The fact that there are very few references to tithing
in the New Testament is interpreted by different writers in different ways. Those who advocate tithing as the basis
for Christian Giving tend to argue that there are few explicit references because tithing is assumed as a practice. Those who are critical of teaching tithing say that it is not mentioned very often and is not advocated
in the New Testament because it was not an important part of Jesus’ teaching.
There is disagreement about who was required to tithe
in response to the Law of Moses. Those who advocate tithing argue that every
Jew was required to tithe. Others suggest that it was only those who had inherited
land who had this obligation, and that the poor did not tithe. [rek]
There is also disagreement about the interpretation
of “storehouse” (Malachi 3:
10). Some
writers, such as R T Kendall, insist that the full tithe must be given to the local Church.
Others accept that, in interpreting this verse for the Church of today, the tithe may be distributed among various
Christian enterprises.
There is a real division of opinion on what the Bible
is actually saying about tithing. While it can be said to be a biblical model
for giving, it would be difficult to argue that it is the Christian standard for giving.[rek[
The New Testament Emphasis on Sacrificial Giving
New Testament teaching on giving emphasises generosity and sacrifice as the main characteristics of Christian giving. Key passages in the gospels are Jesus’ encounter with the rich young
man (Matthew 19: 16-22; Mark 10: 17-22; Luke 18: 18-25);
the widow’s offering (Mark 12:
41-44; Luke 21: 1-4); and Jesus’ encounter with
Zacchaeus (Luke 19: 1-10). Another very important passage is 2 Corinthians 8:
1-15, where Paul commends the sacrificial giving of the Macedonian Christians. Acts 2: 43-47 and
Acts 4: 32-37 present a picture of the first days of the Church when there was a giving up of individual possessions for the
common good.
While the Church may be divided on the biblical teaching
on tithing, it should be able to unite around the New Testament emphasis on generous and sacrificial giving. This emphasis is not an easy option when compared with Tithing. Stuart
Murray, in Beyond Tithing makes this comment:
“Tithing is simply not radical enough for the kingdom of God –
especially where tithes are used primarily to support church staff, premises and programmes. Costly decisions are
needed that may involve living more simply, moving into smaller houses and into run-down neighbourhoods, redistributing resources
across the world church, investing capital as well as income in kingdom projects, and much else. Becoming rich honestly
is no barrier to following Jesus, but retaining wealth in a world of poverty, hunger and suffering surely is.”
This comment is a call to far more radical giving than the call for tithing. Exploring and accepting the New
Testament emphasis on sacrificial giving will be more painful than an acceptance of tithing as the biblical model or Christian
standard for giving.
Appreciation of those who choose to Tithe
It has already been noted that Stuart Murray is one of those who is critical
of advocating tithing, but he does make this comment:
“Many fine Christians have expressed their devotion to Christ,
their faith in God’s promises and their commitment to the advance of God’s kingdom through tithing. They
testify to diverse spiritual and material blessings, which they associate confidently with the practice of tithing.
It is not the intention of this study to dismiss such testimonies or to minimise the love, faith and generosity of those for
whom tithing has been a powerful aid to discipleship.”
It is not the intention of this report to criticise
those who choose to tithe. While tithing has not been accepted as the biblical standard for giving, it is not being
criticised as a chosen practice. At the present time in
the Church of Scotland it is probably the case that the most generous giving comes from those who choose to tithe, and from
congregations where tithing is part of their teaching on Christian giving. With the exception of very rich tithers,
the giving of those who tithe is probably the nearest we get to sacrificial giving. The Church should be prepared to
acknowledge and appreciate the value of tithing to supporting its worship, mission and service.
Everything is from God and Everything is for God
Sometimes
tithing has been misunderstood as 10% for God and 90% for ourselves (to do with as we like).
This is certainly not biblical, and was emphasised in the 1993 Report with this quotation from the paper submitted
by John Barclay:
“Putting emphasis on tithing might well constitute a trap
if the impression were given that the Christian can do whatever he or she desires with the other ninety per cent. (This
is at least part of the reason for the criticism of the tithing practice in Matthew 23: 23 – the minute concern
for the giving of ten per cent can overshadow the large and limitless commitment which we owe to God.)”
As Christians we believe that everything is from God
and everything is for God. This means that what we spend on ourselves and our families should honour God just as much
as what we give in our offering at church.
If everything is from God and for God, why should there
be a special claim on part of our financial resources for an offering to God?
A booklet prepared for the Stewardship Committee of
the British Council of Churches in 1980 includes this paragraph:
“The greatest gift with which the Church has been entrusted
is the Gospel – ‘the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in Jesus Christ’ (2 Corinthians 4: 6); ‘the
unsearchable riches of Christ’ (Ephesians 3: 8); ‘the gospel which you received, in which you stand, by which
you are saved’ (1 Corinthians 15: 1-2). This means that the first task of the Church, after waiting on God and
seeking the help of the Spirit, is to make known the Good News of God given in Jesus Christ (Matthew 28: 18-20, Luke 24: 45-47,
Acts 2: 22-42). The commands of the risen Jesus to his followers speak of sending and going out – to the local
community, to the nation, and to the world. The budgets of the Churches and congregations should be examined in the
light of this priority. How much time, money and effort are given by congregations to obeying the commands to make Christ
and the Gospel known and to serve men and women for his sake?”
While everything we have is for God, our giving to God for the work of the Church is special because we have a responsibility
for the stewardship of the gospel. As Christians we are committed to sharing and spreading the gospel. Our offering
of money in an act of worship is an offering to God for this purpose. This purpose is so important that our offering
should be a priority in our spending, and should be not only generous but sacrificial giving.
The New Testament call for sacrificial giving places a great responsibility
on the Church at every level. If the justification for inviting sacrificial giving is the stewardship of the gospel,
then what is given must be used, and seen to be used, for the advancement of the kingdom of God.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Reports to the General Assembly 1979 and 1993.
Christian
Stewardship in the 1980s
(Stewardship and Budget Committee, 1980)
Giving
and Tithing – Larry Burkett
(Moody Press, 1991)
Should the Church teach Tithing? – Russell Earl Kelly (Writers
Club Press, 2001)
The
Gift of Giving – R T Kendall (Hodder &
Stoughton, 1998)
Beyond
Tithing – Stuart Murray
(Paternoster Press, 2000)
The
Grace of Giving – Stephen F Olford (Kregel Publications, 2000)
Tithing
must not be Taboo – Ann McCool (‘Life and Work’, July 2002)
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